Design Inspiration. Planet Stencil Library.

Floral Stencils; a perennial favourite.

This morning a European magazine asked me for some images of flower stencils that they wanted for their pages. They submitted a list of their choices and these designs were amongst them.

GR7 Begonia stencil

GR27 Ranunculus stencil

I had not used these stencils for a while and had forgotton how charming a simple uncomplicated flower stencil can look.

GR19 anemone stencil.

Use them sprigged over walls, furniture or fabrics.

GR16 Phlox stencil.

Apply them as a decorative motif onto cupboard doors and cushion covers.

Put a 'spring' in your step by stencilling them onto stair risers!

The stencils can be found in the Folk Art and the Garden Room Collections.

Fleeting Beauty

 

Most of Great Britain has basked in the sun for the past week but now temperatures will plummet in our area from 20 down to 3. So, before the blooms turn brown with frost and the sullen skies return I thought I would nip to the garden with the camera. Yes, that's me in a bauble.

magnolia and prunus

forsythia

orange, yellow shrub, I forget it's name

The honey bees and the bumbles are busy.

Christopher the pheasant and his six wives have been indulging in dust baths and sun bathing.

various daffodils

So, fellow Northerners....enjoy and remember the warmth. It may be a month or so before we experience this 'summer' again! 

winter jasmine.

Helen.

Turning over a new Leaf

I was so excited to read about the launch of Leaf a new on line magazine dedicated to outdoor living will debut later today.  I read about it at  The Daily Basics

One of the co founders of Leaf is Susan Cohan the other is Rochelle Greyer of Studio G blog. Whenever I visit Studio G I find the most wonderful garden design and fabulous products there.

image dedon.de   via studio G.

image Rochelle Studio G blog.

This was a recent camping party for a nine year old. So pretty.

Rochelle has mentioned Designinspiration in the past, maybe I should send some pictures of my stencilled garden!

I resisted the tempation to show photos from the new magazine, you will have to go and visit.   I have subscribed to Leaf and I think you may want to.  It's free and it looks gorgeous. Here are some of the ingredients promised for the first issue.

Yarn Bombs in Seattle
Ideas for a front porch update
What to wear as the weather cools
Apples… history, recipes and more
A garden Before and After project in Long Beach, California
A seasonal cocktail video
Creating warmth outside in autumn
A  Moroccan inspired garden in Silver Lake
Inspirations from an island in Norway.

Helen.

Tour our home. The Gustavian Bedroom

Continuing the 'tour our home' series let me introduce you to the Gustavian bedroom. 

It's my bedroom and I stencilled it in 1997. Although the walls are scuffed and the room now has a shabby appearance, I am loathe to paint over it....but I will.

I chose the colours to match the view of the garden.

The bed is in the centre of the room and from there I can see the Tyne Valley through both windows.

The idea for this room came from grand Swedish houses during the Gustavian period.

Also, I took inspiration from the botanical wall paintings at Wallington Hall in Northumberland.

You will find the floral stencils in our Garden Room Range. The allover stencil pattern on the floor and the boxes is in the Blue and White collection.

A border stencil of laurel leaves from the Empire Collection frames botanical prints and stencilled panels.

Rachel and Stephen visited Wallington Hall recently.  I will show his photographs of the wall paintings in a future post so that you can see the design influence.

The Gustavian bedroom is one of the rooms that visitors see on tours of The Stencilled Home and appears in the book and Dvd of the same name.

As soon as I have plans firmed up for a replacement stencilled room I shall paint over this one and create something else...  I hope I will enjoy it as much as this one.

Helen. 

 

Glorious rhubarb

The fabulous weather in the UK right now means that I am spending evenings planting seeds then harvesting and cooking rhubarb.
This is the first time in ages that the plants have been sweet enough to just pull up and munch. I remember as children we would feast on raw rhubarb dipped in sugar. This year the plants have bolted so I have filled several vases around the house with the flower heads.

The leaves and rhubarb flowers last for ages and make a dramatic display if you have room for them.

 
I have a memory from being a Weightwatchers member sometime in the 1980's was that one could eat unlimited amounts of liver and rhubarb...all other foods were to be measured.  Did I remember that correctly? Does anyone know?

Helen.

Pretty in pink

Sometimes you see something that seems so pretty you just want to make a record of it.  This is a record of one of those occasions.  One spring day I walked into the lavvy at our office. A soft, sun light illuminated the green glass vase in the window.  The colour and light worked perfectly with the pink of the candle holders. 

I took their pictures then ran to the garden for an assortment of spring blooms. 

 

I don't know why they have been sitting in a file all this time, I think they are pretty.

 

Helen

 

 

Sofa so good...the concrete chesterfield

I met a gentleman at the weekend who told me interesting stories of concrete projects undertaken by Gray Concrete of Edinburgh, Scotland. He said " You'll love the Concrete Chesterfield Sofa..."

...and I do.  It would look delicious in deep red or gold in my orchard, especially in September when it would pick up the tints of the apples and plums. Every crease and stitch in this concrete sofa is so lifelike and I'm told that there is a perfectly cast 50 pence coin sliding behind the cushions.

There are a lot of other fabulous projects on their site and they difinitely need a visit if you are planning to build a museum sometime soon!

I have been meaning to dabble in concrete for a while now.  In a decorative way , not the gangster concrete slippers kind of way. My friend Di Overton from DesignersBlock and Ghost furniture has a concrete collaboration with Kathy Dallwood.  It's called Concrete Ghost and this concrete tassel is one of their creations

....actually Di and Kathy would make excellent concrete slippers.

One of my most memorable childhood pastimes was casting concrete from my sea side type plastic bucket. I never managed to emulate upholstered furniture but produced a wall of grey sandcastle doorstops.

This is our new button back stencil.  It was inspired by a Chesterfield Sofa. By applying a deeper shade of colour around the buttons an illusion of depth can be achieved. It also looks good as a flat pattern. If you need one just contact us for sizes and prices. We are looking forward to using it very soon....and showing you the results of course.

Gray Concrete photos by Esther Clayton.   

Helen

Cards that grow

I found this in a newsletter from The House Directory, which is Homes and Gardens Magazine on line address book of yummy things for ...well, your homes and garden.  You may like to sign up for it, there is usually something fabulous to see. My interest  was caught by Postcardens, a mini cress garden in card form that you send to brighten someone's day. 

The lucky recipient waters their card and over the next two weeks a garden should grow. There are three designs to choose from, I am showing you 'Botanical' See more about them here or follow the link at House Directory. On my birthday I received a card containing an orchid arrangement set in foam . It was brilliant and lasted for ages.

I often take flowers as a hostess gift, my garden is abundant during the spring and summer and I supplement home grown blooms with a few showy ones from the florist.

I supply a vase of sorts, as the last thing a hostess needs is to embarque on last minute, unexpected flower arranging. I either disguise a large glass jar or plastic bottle with fabric or give one of Ikeas flat pack plastic vases with the flowers.

Sometimes it might be colourful tin cans or a decorated glass bottle.

I arrive, top up the water in the container and quickly re-tweak the hand tied bouquet. Whenever someone gives me a fancy bouquet I save the wrappings to recycle for others.

These peonies, lilacs and bluebells were given last week. 

Helen

A touch of magnolia

In November I cut a small, slim branch from our magnolia tree. I put it in my bathroom in a glass jug full of shells and water then hung crystals from it.

I thought it was lovely although I have not captured that  beauty successfully on camera.  When I'm soaking in the bath I light candles under the crystals which make them and the branch appear even more magical....but it gets better. 

Delicate flowers are now unfurling from furry pods along the branch.  This has to be one of the simplest and most delightful floral arrangements I've had.  At nearly four months old it has certainly lasted the longest!

Helen

Chippendale Revival

The shortest day has been.  Now we have light nights to look forward to. This is when armchair gardeners curl up on the sofa with tea and next year's seed catalogue and I look at garden furniture and dream.

I could be very, very tempted to have a chunky table from Chippendale Revival's new web site. It seats twelve people and was made from gate posts found on a bonfire. Every thing is made from recyled pieces found by Peter Chippendale and fashioned in his shed in Sussex England. Yes, he is a descendent of the famous Thomas Chippendale. 
Look at all the salvaged pieces waiting to be upcycled, I dislike that phrase but that is just what happens with his finds. I would rather like a couple of the spike benches or the table pictured with them,

it looks even better filed with stuff......Oh and I like this granite bench.... Peter has worked for the past twenty years on his beautiful Japanese style garden, everything in it has been salvaged. Chippendale Revival also offers unusual pieces like charred tree stumps. I don't know what the spikes are set amongst border plants but I think they look great. Here are some more of the pictures that he sent me.

Like I said.  I look at garden furniture and dream.

Peter is the father of designer, Bec Chippendale and he's my husband's brother.  It's a rather creative family.